Sports

Prairie runs through Edison to quarterfinals

Mustangs to host Kit Carson in state quarterfinals next

By Brandon Boles

Times Sports Reporter

Posted:
10/28/2017 04:11:30 PM MDT

Prairie sophomore Carson Holzworth (24) dislodges the ball from an Edison receiver on a pass attempt in the first half of their state 6-man first round game on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Brandon Boles/Fort Morgan Times)

NEW RAYMER — The Prairie Mustangs felt they would be on their way to a blowout win in the first round of the 6-man state playoffs when they ran the ball 65 yards down the field and scored on the opening drive of the game against the Edison Eagles.

When Edison answered with a touchdown drive on its first offensive possession, the Mustangs buckled down and dominated in all three phases of the game to win 51-13 and advance in the playoffs.

"It took us a little bit to get going, but after a couple of drives the kids really got going," Prairie coach Justin Kerns said.

Coltin Hove scored the first touchdown and Patrick Thompson hit a 32-yard run on the second drive for the Mustangs. James Krist recovered a fumble inside the Edison 5-yard line to set up the third rushing touchdown of the quarter for Wyatt Schnug, which put Prairie up 21-6 late in the first quarter.

Getting the run game going was critical in Saturday's win as a heavy wind blowing the entire game made it difficult to throw and kick the ball.

"You could not pass to the north today," Kerns said. "Today was super important to get the run game going. We knew we had the advantage in the trenches."

Prairie continued to score in the second quarter with a Hove run from one yard out, making it four scoring drives in a row for the offense. The one pass play the Mustangs hit for big yardage came on the fifth drive going south with the wind. Mitch Dollerschell hit Devon Boling for a 35-yard score to give them a 35-6 lead.

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Another Pawnee player set up the next touchdown when Trey Moore forced a fumble to set up the Mustangs 11 yards from the end zone. Walter Jordan hit the jet sweep to the right side of the field on the next play for the score. The final touchdown of the game came with less than a minute to go in the half when Thompson ran for 10 yards following a fourth-down stop from the defense. His score put the Mustangs in front 51-6 and forced a running clock the rest of the game.

A trio of Prairie Mustang defenders force a fumble versus the Edison Eagles in the first round of the state 6-man playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

"Between playing a tough team in Fleming last week and today, we were able to get the big plays when we needed to," Kerns said. "I think we are gelling pretty well on offense now."

The running clock made the second half go by quickly. Edison scored a touchdown against some of the backups in the third quarter for the only score of the second half.

Behind a strong performance up front, the Mustangs finished with over 200 rushing yards on offense and created havoc in the run and pass game on defense. Winning in the trenches has been one of the keys for the success this season, according to Kerns. He felt the team again won at the line of scrimmage versus the Eagles.

"Our linemen do a good job," Kerns said. "When we make the right reads behind them, we run for positive yards. One the same token, when our two guys in the middle on defense get going, we blow up a lot of plays in the backfield."

Hove led seven running backs for Prairie with 74 yards and two scores, Holzworth had 60 and Thompson scored on both his run carries for a total of 42 yards. Leading the defense was Holzworth with six tackles and both Moore and Krist forcing a fumble each.

The Mustangs remain unbeaten and advance to the quarterfinals of the 6-man state playoffs to face the No. 7 seed Kit Carson Wildcats next week. Kit Carson won at home versus the Cotopaxi Pirates 46-12 Friday night. The quarterfinal game will be played in New Raymer with a date and time to be set later.

"(Kit Carson) is a quality football team and has been successful in their league," Kerns said. "I know they have a lot of quickness and speed, but they shouldn't do anything to foreign to us. We just have to prepare for a team we are unfamiliar with now."

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